The American Academy of Pediatrics urges more responsible behavior from the entertainment industry.

“Decades of research, hundreds of studies and multiple peer-reviewed meta-analyses that have found a connection” between media violence and real-world aggression, says a recent policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatricians.

In its new document, the AAP implicitly endorses the PTC’s Ratings Reform campaign, calling on government policymakers to develop a “federal parent-centric rating system,” and pass laws that “provide caregivers and children with more specific information about the content of all forms of media,” just as the PTC has been doing.

The report, which will be published in the August issue of Pediatrics, also recommends that pediatricians make children’s media “diets” an essential part of all exams; encourages parents to be mindful of the media their children watch and play; asks the entertainment industry not to glamorize violence, or treat it as humorous; and presses the news media to “acknowledge the association between virtual violence and real-world aggression, in the same way as secondhand smoke is associated with health risks.”

Christopher Gildemeister is the PTC’s Head of Research Operations. He began as an Entertainment Analyst at the PTC in 2005. From 2007-2016, he was Senior Writer/Editor, responsible for communicating the PTC’s message to the public through newsletters, columns, and the PTC Watchdog blog. Dr. Gildemeister holds a Ph.D. from The Catholic University of America.